Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Toby Humes, co-founder of The Dudes' Brewing Co., poses next to a row of taps at the brewery's new off-site taproom at Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks.(Photo: LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR)Buy Photo

LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Tap handles await installation at The Dudes' Brewing Co. taproom at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks. The business opened its doors July 15; a grand opening is planned July 29-30. (Photo: LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR)

Thousand Oaks currently has on its books a zoning ordinance that prohibits breweries from operating within most areas of the city.

But brewery taprooms? There's no law against that.

Witness the arrival of The Dudes' Brewing Co., which on Friday became the first brewery-specific taproom in Thousand Oaks when it opened, ever so softly, at the Janss Marketplace.

It also is the first satellite location for the Torrance-based brewery, which launched in March 2013 and added an on-site taproom in September 2014.

'We thought Thousand Oaks was thirsty for a concept like ours. And it's great to have a taproom so close to home,' said brewery co-founder Toby Humes, who lives in Somis with wife Maegen Humes and their two young children. A third is on the way next month.

Nestled between Karma Indian Cuisine and the temporary home of the Conejo Valley Republican Headquarters, The Dudes' taproom is equipped with 24 taps, three of which are on nitro.

A separate handle is devoted to cask ales. The taproom also is equipped with a Randall, a double-chambered filter that can be filled with flavor-enhancing ingredients and attached to a tap.

'Let's say you thought Grandma's Pecan English Style Brown Ale was great but you want a little coffee added in there. You can do that with a Randall,' Humes said.

CalifornIPA, Kölschtal Eddy and other beers from the brewery's core lineup will be available with seasonal and series selections. The latter include Bohemian Hopsody, billed as the official beer of radio station 95.5 KLOS, and Peach Berliner Weisse, described as 'a little sweet, a little sour ... with big flavors and a low alcohol content.' (In this case, 4.5 percent.)

Food service is BYO. Humes is on the lookout for locally produced snack foods that might be a good fit for the space, which doesn't have a kitchen. He also is exploring the idea of bringing in pretzels made with spent grain from the brewing process.

Other plans include waiting until after the election to knock down the wall between the taproom and the political-party headquarters, which would then be turned into a different sort of party space with the addition of a two-lane bowling alley.

For now, the wall is decorated with framed Lebowski Fest posters created by Glendale artist Bill Green.

'We're about surfing and the ocean, but we're also fans of the movie,' Humes said of 'The Big Lebowski,' starring Jeff Bridges as an avid bowler known as The Dude.

That duality extends to the taproom floor, coated in shiny swirls of blue and white epoxy. It looks like the ocean. But it also looks like the surface of a marbleized bowling ball.

'Exactly,' Humes said with a laugh.

Humes and the Dudes team are eying future taproom sites in Hollywood and Huntington Beach. In the meantime, a grand-opening party for the Thousand Oaks site is in the works for July 29-30.

Its current hours of operation are from noon to 10 p.m. Fridays through Sundays and from 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. Check the website for updates and a phone number (173 N. Moorpark Road, Suite D, http://www.thedudesbrew.com).

GOOD FOR WHAT ALES YA

At least two microbreweries are in the pipeline for Ojai, with one already under construction.

Ojai Valley Brewery this week installed pipes at its future production site on Bryant Street. If all goes as planned, beers made there by brewmaster Jeremy Haffner will be served starting this fall on the outdoor patio turned beer garden at AZU Restaurant (457 E. Ojai Ave., 805-640-7987, http://www.azuojai.com). The restaurant is managed by Haffner's wife, Elizabeth Haffner, and owned by his mother-in-law, Laurel Moore. To follow the brewery's progress, 'like' the Ojai Valley Brewery Facebook page and/or click on http://ojaivalleybrewery.com.

Tony Yanow, a former owner of Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles, has purchased the long-vacant Ojai Valley Bowl property at 1202 E. Ojai Ave., with an eye toward turning it into a microbrewery, restaurant and boutique hotel.

Meanwhile, exterior signage went up last weekend for Ventura Coast Brewing Co. in downtown Ventura. The hand-painted signs by Oxnard-based muralist Lisa Kelly help identify the former My Florist / blu orkid building as the (future) home of 'Ventura Coast Brew Co.' The 15-barrel brewery is aiming for a summer opening, owner Kyle Thille said this week.

OPEN, SHUT AND IN BETWEEN

In Newbury Park, a drive-thru Starbucks opened Thursday in the Thousand Oaks Marketplace, replacing the walk-in site that closed July 10 up the road and across the street. Hours at the new location are from 5 a.m. daily (540 N. Ventu Park Road, 805-499-2581, http://www.starbucks.com).

McGregor's Craft Beer & Wine opened in Moorpark's Tuscany Square shopping center on Father's Day — nearly two years after its owners first pursued the idea of opening a taproom and bottle shop at another shopping center less than a mile away.

Recent selections on McGregor's 16 taps have included Thunderchief Double IPA from Enegren Brewing Co. of Moorpark, Lucy English Blonde Ale on nitro from Five Threads Brewing Co. of Westlake Village and Luponic Distortion No. 002 from Firestone Walker Brewing Co. of Paso Robles.

The bottle shop stocks wine as well as beer, the latter in refrigerated display cases.

Food is BYO; wine-and-cheese pairings ($14 for three reds or whites, plus cheese) are available on selected Thursdays. For a previous Star story about McGregor's, click on http://bit.ly/29uLIlg (144 W. Los Angeles Ave., Suite 105, 805-553-9818, http://www.mcgregorscraftbeer.com).

In Agoura Hills, Cafe 14 closed its doors on July 14 at 30315 Canwood St., Suites 13-14. The closure came a day after an email was sent to patrons announcing July 30 as the restaurant's final day of business.

'We want to thank all of the guests that have joined us at this 'hidden gem' of a restaurant. Without your willingness to try new experiences and cuisine, we would not have lasted the 13 years that we did,' reads the email message from owners and chefs Claudine Bernard and Neil Kramer.

In Oxnard, the Centennial Plaza location of Luna's Mexican Restaurant closed in June, about four months after its owners shuttered the restaurant's original location at The Palms Center (aka the former Oxnard outlet mall).

Also previously occupied by Nawlinz Bistro, the Centennial Plaza space has been claimed as the future home of Fresh & Fabulous Cafe, currently operated by owner, chef, dietitian and restaurateur Magda Weydt at the historic Woolworth Building around the corner.

When it moves to its new address later this summer, the café will gain a full kitchen, allowing Weydt to offer a full breakfast menu and to expand the lunch menu to include burgers and a greater range of vegetarian options.

Weydt also is looking forward to offering patio seating and organic drinks from Tractor Soda Co.

Fresh & Fabulous continues to serve soups, salads, sandwiches and baked goods from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays at its existing location (401 South A St., 805-486-4547, http://www.myfreshandfabulous.com).

The third PizzaRev location in Ventura County will open to the public this week next to Muvico Thousand Oaks 14 at The Oaks shopping mall in Thousand Oaks.

The event from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday will include a free, personal-sized pizza for each patron who 'likes' and/or 'follows' PizzaRev on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat — and who can show said like/follow status via smartphone or a printout.

Opening festivities will continue with a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on July 28, when 100 percent of sales from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. will be donated to the organization's California Southland Chapter.

In addition to offering customizable pizzas baked in a 900-degree oven, the newest PizzaRev will feature an iPourIt system that allows of-age patrons to serve their own beer and wine on tap (162 W. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 200, 805-230-3482, http://pizzarev.com).

ADVANCE WARNING

The midtown Ventura location of Yolanda's Mexican Cafe (2753 E. Main St.) will close for remodeling at the end of service on July 24. Its hours that day will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

'We're going to remodel from the ground to the roof,' said Rod Gietzen, president and co-owner. The project includes building a new kitchen at the center of the restaurant, creating new bathrooms and adding a functional, 990-square-foot patio for diners at the back of the building, which faces the under-construction Community Memorial Hospital.

A late-November reopening is anticipated. Some employees will relocate to other Yolanda's locations in Oxnard, Camarillo and Simi Valley for the duration. For details, click on http://www.yolandasmexicancafe.com.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

You can bet the punch bowl will be spiked when VenTiki Lounge & Lanai in downtown Ventura marks its third anniversary with cake and punch from 6 p.m. Sunday.

The island-oasis bar and restaurant specializes in tiki drinks both new and classic, with a menu that includes salads, sushi, poke bowls, kalua pork sliders and specials like the Robinson Cristo sandwich made with SPAM (701 E. Main St., 805-667-8887, http://www.ventikiloungeandlanai.com).

Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. Her Cafe Society column appears in the Sunday Life section and Fridays in the Time Out section. For between-column updates, follow 805foodie on Twitter and Instagram and 'like' the Facebook page VCS Eats. Please send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.

Read or Share this story: https://www.vcstar.com/story/life/columnists/lisa-mckinnon/2016/07/16/cafe-society-dudes-brewing-taproom-in-thousand-oaks-abides-by-city-zoning/88922216/